Euro zone to tighten fiscal policy in 2024 – Commission
Euro zone fiscal policy will be tighter on aggregate next year but several countries, including France and Italy, plan to spend too much, breaking EU recommendations, the European Commission said today after analysing draft euro zone 2024 budgets. “The aggregate fiscal stance for the euro area is projected to be contractionary in 2024 on the […]
EU October car sales up 14.6%, EV sales jump more than 36%
New car sales in the European Union rose 14.6% in October, boosted in part by a big jump in sales of fully electric cars, while hybrid electric vehicles accounted for nearly three of every 10 vehicles sold in the economic bloc. Sales of fully electric cars rose 36.3% from a year earlier and full hybrid […]
Business confidence in “experience economy” weakens
A quarter of businesses in the “experience economy” are less confident than they were six months ago, new research has found. A similar proportion of firms indicated they expect conditions to be poor over the next six months. The experience economy includes hospitality, retail, travel, food, drink, tourism, entertainment, the arts and events. The survey […]
EU Parliament to vote on new ‘right to repair’ consumer rules
New rules to make it easier for consumers to request repairs for goods will be voted on by the European Parliament. The legislation seeks to introduce a “right to repair”, in order to reduce unnecessary waste. It will require producers and sellers of goods to prioritise the repair of an item, during its guarantee period, […]
Consumers planning a more positive but prudent Christmas
Planning to cut back on Christmas spending is now a seasonal norm, according to analysis of the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment survey for November. It contained a special question on consumers spending plans for Christmas, and compared it with spending intentions in the previous three years. Over half of consumers expect to have less to […]
‘Buy now, pay later’ in focus as festive season nears
It’s the time of year when the purse strings are being loosened in the run into the festive season. Most of us are at the stage where we’re at least starting to plan for the months ahead and, more importantly, how we’re going to finance and manage the annual Christmas spend. Following at least two […]
Record online spend forecast for Black Friday
One week out, AIB is forecasting that online Black Friday spend in Ireland this year will surpass last year’s record-breaking total. In 2022, customers of the bank spent €66,000 every minute or €95m in total, the highest online spend ever recorded by the lender over a 24-hour period. A total of 900,000 card transactions by […]
Paid sick leave to increase to 5 days from January
The Government has announced that the entitlement to paid sick leave will increase from three to five days on 1 January 2024. It is the second stage of a four-year plan which will see employer-paid sick leave gradually rise to ten days in 2026. The move is designed to ensure that all employees get a […]
More expensive services, food drive euro zone inflation in October
More expensive services and food were the main drivers of consumer price growth in the euro zone in October, data showed today, as the EU’s statistics office confirmed year-on-year inflation slowed sharply. Eurostat said consumer inflation in the 20 countries using the euro decelerated to 2.9% year-on-year in October from 4.3% in September after prices […]
Oil prices head for fourth week of declines in a row as supply grows
Oil prices were little changed today but on track for their fourth week of losses in a row after tumbling about 5% to a four month-low yesterday on worries over global demand. Brent futures edged up seven cents, or 0.1%, to $77.49 a barrel in early trade. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was at […]
Central Bank publishes new accountability rules for financial companies
The Central Bank has today published regulations and guidance for firms who have to comply with the Individual Accountability Framework (IAF). This is a set of rules governing the conduct of employees and executives in financial companies. It follows a three month consultation process. Derville Rowland, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank said: “As regulators, […]
Dublin property prices fall again in September – CSO
Residential property prices rose nationally in September, compared to the same month last year, by 1.4%. This compares to an annual rate of 1.1% in August, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show. The rate of price increases outside Dublin rose to an annual rate of 4%, compared to 3.4% in August. However, […]
Exports slow by 17% in September on lower pharma and electronics
Exports of goods from Ireland fell 17% in September, compared to the same month of last year, driven in large part by a further sizeable drop in sales of pharmaceutical related products and electronics. In total, goods valued at just under €16 billion were exported during the month, compared to €19.4 billion in September of […]
Unions invited to public sector pay talks
The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe has invited public service unions and staff representative associations to enter negotiations with the Government on a new public sector pay agreement. The talks will take place under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The current public sector pay deal, Building Momentum, […]
Govt to build emergency reserve LNG storage facility
The Government is to build a new floating gas storage facility for Liquified Natural Gas to use as a strategic emergency reserve in case of global supply disruptions. It is one of 28 actions included in its new and long-awaited energy security strategy launched today. The plan is to pay for the construction and operation […]
‘Out of home’ food sector hits record €9.3bn in 2023
A more discerning, occasion-led approach to dining out is likely to take hold next year, the latest Bord Bia annual Foodservice Market Insights report concludes. It comes against the backdrop of continued increases in consumer prices together with growing economic uncertainty, as well as a ‘rebalancing’ of consumer demand following a post-pandemic surge. Figures from […]
Governance rules could deter executives from seeking senior posts
New governance rules, which would see individuals being held accountable for willful wrongdoing in the financial sector, could stymie recruitment to senior executive positions within organisations, a survey of firms has found. The Individual Accountability Framework rules are being rolled out by the Central Bank and are due to come into operation over the coming […]
Grocery inflation falls to 9.8% from 10.5%
New figures from Kantar show that grocery inflation has fallen below 10% for the first time this year. Grocery inflation fell to 9.8% in the 12 weeks to October 29, down from 10.5% and marking the sixth month of falls in a row. Figures last week from the CSO showed that the annual rate of […]